I've assembled as many interesting
weather facts as I can to make this world weather trivia page. Obviously
I didn't know all these facts off the top of my head. Some I discovered
myself, but the I had to hunt around for the vast majority. The internet
was, needless to say, a particulary handy source, especially regarding
American weather. Another good source proved to be old weather periodicals,
such as The Meteorological Magazine which seemed much more
intent on facts and figures than research. If you scroll to the bottom
of this page you'll find a list of sources. Incidentally, if any of these
facts turn out to be wrong, or records quoted get broken please
and let me know. Thanks.

Jan 11886 Norway's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -51.4C at Karasjok.2006 Sydney, Australia records
a high of 44.2C, the second hottest day on record here - the highest maximum
temperature on record here is 45.3C recorded in 1939 (records date back
to 1859). Meanwhile, Sydney Airport recorded its hottest day on record
reaching 45.2C. 17, 18, 19

Jan 21960 One of Australia's hottest
days on record; temperatures reached 50.7C in Oodnadatta in South Australia,
the record high for the state. Northern Territory in Australia also records
its hottest day on record as highs at Finke peak at 48.3C. 11962 Hawaii's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -10.0C at Mount Haleakala.1974 Thailand's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -1.4C at Sakon Nakhon.

Jan 31095 A great snowstorm affects
Ireland killing many. 21961 A 3 day long icestorms
over northern Idaho comes to an end having left ice up to 20cm accumulated
on power and telephone lines. This is a US record! 2

Jan 51904 New Jersey's coldest
night on record; lows drop to -36.7C at River Vale. Pennsylvania records
its coldest night on record as lows drop down to -41.1C in Smethport. 31974 Temperatures reach 15C
at Vanda Station on the Scott Coast, Antarctica. This is the highest temperature
recorded in Antarctica. 21993 Winds on Mount Haleakala
on Maui in Hawaii reach 100mph, knocking down power lines on which 45cm
ice had accumulated. 21999 Illinois' coldest night
on record; lows drop to -37.8C at Congerville. 3

Jan 61880 Seattle's greatest snowstorm
on record. 146cm snow lay on the ground after the storm halting transport
and causing hundreds of barns to collapse. 42002 Snow fell in Athens for
the first time since 1992 bewteen 4th and 6th January. The snow settled
and was 4-5cm deep in the city and 10cm deep at the Acropolis. Some Aegean
islands were also affected by snow and gale force winds. On the 6th the
minimum temperature in Athens was -2.2C and the maximum just 1.8C comapred
to the normal of 13C, whilst in Souda on Crete the minimum and maximum
was just 0.6C and 3.4C respectively. The average January high there is
16C. It wasn't just cold in Greece though; in Rome and Naples lows on the
5th dropped to -5.3C and -2.8C respectively.

Jan 71971 Arizona's coldest night
on record; lows at Hawley Lake drop down to -40.0C. 31985 La Coruna in the extreme
northwest of Spain records its coldest night on record as lows drop to
-4.8C. 52002 A trace of snow fell
in Washington DC on the 6th and 7th, the latest first snowfall of the winter
recorded here since Christmas Day 1894.

Jan 81937 Nevada's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -45.6C at San Jacinto. 31966 The world's wettest 24
hour period on record saw 1,825mm rain fall in 24 hours on the 7/8 January
at Foc Foc on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion. 61979 Lows in Moscow drop to
-45C, the coldest night here in almost a century. 21982 Denmark's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -31.2C at Hørsted/Thy.2000 Kirensk in Siberia records
a low of -58C. 2

Jan 91954 Greenland's coldest temperature
on record; a reading of -66C is read during the British Greenland Expedition
at Northice (78.04N, 38.29W). 2

Jan 101939 Victoria in Australia
records its hottest day on record when highs at Mildura reach 47.2C. 11971 The UK records its joint
mildest January day on record when highs reach 18.3C at Aber, North Wales.1973 54 people are killed
and another 350 are injured as a tornado hits San Justo, some 300 miles
northwest of Buenos Aries. 71982 England's coldest night
on record and the coldest January night on record; temperatures drop to
a low of -26.1C at Newport, Shropshire. It was also the UK's joint coldest
night on record as temperatures in Braemar, Aberdeenshire in Scotland dropped
to -27.2C.

Jan 111911 Temperatures at Rapid
City, South Dakota drop 26 degrees Celsius in just 15 minutes. 21939 New South Wales in Australia
records its hottest day on record when highs at Wilcannia reach 50.0C.
11979 Temperatures drop to
a low of -9.4C in Milan, Italy. Since then a colder night has not been
registered. During the day temperatures climbed no higher than -4.2C. A
colder day hasn't been recorded here since then. 13

Jan 121939 Adelaide's hottest day
on record; temperatures peak at 46.1C. 161981 Massachusetts' coldest
night on record; lows drop to -37.2C at Chester. 31985 34cm snow falls in San
Antonio, Texas. This was more snow than had ever fallen before in an entire
winter season.1987 Switzerland's coldest
night on record; lows drop to -41.8C at La Brévine.

Jan 131903 Tahiti and the Society
Islands are struck by a tropical cyclone. The associated storm surge is
as high as 12m and kills 1,000 people. 21912 Maryland's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -40.0C at Oakland. 3

Jan 141939 Sydney records its hottest
day on record as the maximum temperature reaches 45.3C. To put this in
some kind context, the average January high here is 25.8C and on average
just 3 January days per year have a maximum temperature above 30C. A high
of 40C is to be expected on average once every ten years or so! 19

Jan 151932 Los Angeles' greatest
snowstorm on record; approx 5cm snow falls, covering the ground to a depth
of 2.5cm at the Civic Center and Santa Monica beach was also covered with
snow. 41957 Montreal lowest temperature
on record, -37.8C, was recorded.

Jan 161889 Cloncurry in Queensland,
Australia records a high of 53.3C, the hottest day on record both here
and in Australia. 21947 The Netherlands records
its hottest January day on record when highs reach 17.2C in Maastricht.

Jan 181930 Oklahoma's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -32.8C at Watts. 31943 Idaho's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -51.1C at Island Park Dam. 31990 Hong Kong's coldest night
on record; lows drop to freezing.2002 Desert areas in the north
of Saudi Arabia were affected by snow for the first time in 40 years. Snow
fell to a depth of 10-20cm in some places. The snow melted away pretty
quickly but reports say that nomads in the area aren't at all used to snow
and were rather confused as to what to do with it. Not unlike British people
on a sunny summers day. Ha Ha.

Jan 191925 Maine's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -44.4C at Van Buren. 31977 Snow falls in Miami,
Palm Beach, Miami Beach and Homestead (22 miles south of Miami), the first
and thus far the only time snow has been observed south of Fort Myers.
The snow melted on contact with the ground but nevertheless snow's snow!
41994 Indiana's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -37.8C at New Whiteland. 3

Jan 201493 A blizzard hits Florence
in Italy leaving streets blocked with snow. 21606 2,000 people killed in
the Severn Estuary area. This is the UK's deadliest flood.1933 Phoenix, Arizona records
its joint greatest snowfall ever when 2.5cm snow falls. In 1937 the record
is equalled on the same day when 2.5cm snow falls again. 21937 California's coldest
night on record; lows at Boca drop down to -42.8C. 31954 The coldest night on
record in the 48 continugous states of the USA; lows in Roger's Pass, Montana
drop to -56.5C.

Jan 211940 Wales' coldest night
on record; lows drop to -23.3C at Rhayader, Powys. 81985 South Carolina's coldest
night on record; lows at Caesars Head drop down to -28.3C. It's also North
Carolina's coldest night on record. Low's Mount Mitchell drop down to -36.7C.
3

Jan 221985 Virginia's coldest night
on record; lows at Mountain Lake drop down to -34.4C. 31994 The 24 hour period ending
on the 22nd became the wettest such period on record in New Zealand when
Colliers Creek recorded 682mm rain. 473mm of this rain fell in just 12
hours on the 22nd making it also the wettest 12 hour period on record in
New Zealand. 9

Jan 241922 Wisconsin's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -47.8C at Danbury. 31942 Romania's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -38.5C at Bod.1996 Prolonged freezing rain,
glaze and ice pellets affected much of central England and Wales and parts
of southern England during the evening and night of the 23rd/24th. It was
probably the most widespread prolonged spell of freezing rain, glaze and
ice pellets since late January 1940.

Jan 251902 Japan's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -41.0C at Asahikawa.1956 Hawaii registers its
record maximum 24 hour precipitation as 965.2mm rain falls at Kileuea Plateau.
101990 The Burn's Day Storm.
47 people were killed when gusts peaking at 108mph affected the UK. This
is one of the worst storms ever to affect the UK.

Jan 261978 Ohio's worst winter storm
on record; heavy snow and strong winds combined to dump several inches
of snow and whip up huge snowdrifts across the state. Winds gusted to more
than 100mph at some spots, and the peak gust of 82mph at Cleveland Airport
is the strongest gust on record here. 51 people died as a result of this
storm. 112003 Aboyne, Aberdeenshire
in Scotland records a high of 18.3C to equal the UK's record January maximum
temperature. 12

Jan 271940 Georgia's (USA) coldest
night on record; lows drop to -27.2C at North Floyd County. 31942 The Netherlands' coldest
night on record; lows drop to -27.4C in Winterswijk in the east of the
country.1958 The UK records its joint
mildest January day on record when highs reach 18.3C at Aber, North Wales.1967 58.4 cms snow falls in
29 hours in Chicago, at the time (and possibly still now) the greatest
snowfall for one storm here. With just over 50cms snow falling in 24 hours
it was also the greatest 24 hour snowstorm on record here at the time (and
again possibly still now) The storm started on the 26th and ended by the
mid morning of the 27th. 142000 Parts of Jordan and Israel
received a rare taste of winter; 45cm snow fell on the city and snow fell
in parts of the Negev Desert whilst the town of Beer Sheba recorded it's
first snow in 50 years. 152003 The 26th and 27th were
very mild across the UK. The 26th saw the highest temperatures on record
in January in both Scotland and Northern Ireland with highs of 18.3C at
Aboyne, Scotland and 16.1C at Silent Valley, Northern Ireland. On the 27th
England recorded its warmest January day on record when East Malling, Kent
reached 17.4C. On the same day temperatures in both London and Paris reached
16.5C. 12

Jan 281887 The bigest snowflake
ever recorded falls at Fort Keough, Montana. The flake measured 38cm by
20cm. 21922 A storm known as the
"Knickerbocker" storm hits Washington DC. 71cm snow falls in 32 hours.
96 people are killed when the roof of the Knickerbocker cinema collapses
under the weight of snow. 21963 Kentucky's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -36.7C at Cynthiana. 31999 Finland's coldest night
on record; lows drop to -51.5C at Kittilia.2002 A storm over western
Europe killed 17 people. 6 were killed in the UK, 3 in Germany and the
rest in Denmark, Poland and the Baltic States. The storm generated winds
up to 193km/h on the top of Ben Nevis, Scotland and blew over lorries in
Scotland. In the UK this storm is the worst in more than a decade.

Jan 291934 Temperatures at Mount
Washington, New Hampshire drop down to -43.9C, the state's coldest night
on record. 32001 Lows drop to -61C at
Oimekon in Siberia. During the day temperatures rise to just -54C.2002 309.9mm rain falls in
24 hours at Hilo on Hawaii, the wettest January day on record here and
also the wettest January day since 1990 when 241.6mm rain fell. In the
whole of January 2002 Hilo went on to record 684.5mm rain. Elsewhere on
the island it was even wetter; Glenwood recorded 373.1mm rain whilst 443.5mm
rain got dumped on Pahala.

Jan 301966 Alabama's coldest night
on record; lows at New Market drop down to -32.3C. It's also Mississippi's
coldest night on record as lows here drop down to -28.3C at Corinth. 3